A pair of big league outfielders were revealed to have tested positive for COVID-19 - Austin Meadows of the Tampa Bay Rays and Gregory Polanco of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Meadows, a first round draft pick of the Pirates in 2013 before coming to the Rays in the middle of the 2018 season in the Chris Archer deal, had a breakout year in 2019 making his first All-Star Team. In 138 games, Meadows hit .291 with 33 HR and 89 RBI. While Meadows, 25, is experiencing only mild symptoms the Rays are keeping him on the shelf indefinitely.
However, Pirates manager Derek Shelton has not ruled out playing Polanco in next week's opener. (A foolish idea in my opinion). Polanco, 28, has spent his entire professional career in the Pirates organization. The Dominican born outfielder signed with the Bucs in 2009 when he was 17 and would make his big league debut in 2014. After hitting a career high 23 HR in 2018, injuries limited Polanco to just 42 games in 2019 due to inflammation in his left shoulder. While I'm sure Polanco wants to atone for a disappointing 2019 season now is not the time.
If players are testing positive for COVID-19 now I shudder to think what it will be like once the regular season begins next week - if it begins.
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